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Fervent

The Bible describes Satan in different ways. It describes him as a serpent (Genesis 3:1), a murderer (Psalm 106:37), a dragon (Revelation 12: 9) and a father of lies (John 8:44). His desire is to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10) and ultimately cause us to turn away from God. When we read about him in scripture we know Satan is no good. So why do we invite the enemy into our homes, jobs and minds? You might say, “What?! I don’t invite him into my life, I’m saved.” But that’s the thing -it is the saved that are under attack and sometimes we let Satan in without even knowing. We are at war and Satan is our enemy. The good news is that we have God fighting with us and for us. With God we’ve already won the battle! However, this will not stop Satan from tryng to come in. So, we must fight with prayer and supplication in order to defeat the enemy.

For my church’s women’s bible study, we are reading this amazing book called Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. I’m only on the second chapter and I’m already ready to war; war against the enemy. Fervent is mainly about prayer. Prayer is our weapon of choice when going against the enemy. It’s not only meant to combat war, it is also our way to express our trust in God. In turn, our trust in Him will increase. By increasing our trust in His plan we are also increasing our faith. The Bible says- “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Mathew 21:22 (NLT) And the enemy knows this! He knows if we pray more our faith will grow. So to decrease our faith he distracts us from prayer. How many times have you got on your knees to pray and all of sudden your phone goes off, or your mind starts racing about other things? These distractions are not coincidences. They are strategies from the enemy. So how do you prepare for the enemies attacks and block his tactics? Here are three ways to prepare for war-

1.) Praying with precession

Priscilla suggested praying with precession to remove distractions. Focus on areas where we know the enemy is attacking. It could be focused prayer on family, friends, job, children, school or whatever. I prayed for my time crunch constraints. I thought I was too busy for prayer. I prayed about this and gave this concern to God. I am now able to get up earlier and pray. I even found a church by my job that opens for their sanctuary for prayer. I like to go there during my lunch break. So now I have time in the middle of the day to pray without the urge to rush through the prayer. I feel at peace during prayer now and I can focus on being in His presence while spending time with Him.

2.) Exercise your prayer life

Another great thing about prayer is that it doesn’t just increase our trust in God, it also makes us dangerous and a threat to the enemy. We become prepared soldiers in this war ready for combat. We become a threat to the enemy’s kingdom. A few of my friends are in the army and they told me about the preparation and training they had to do for a career in the armed forces. Gurgling boots camps, long days of training and a lot of exercise, to test endurance. They endured weeks and weeks of this preparation beforehand. Why? To prepare for a possible attack. This is what we need to do in our prayer life. We need to exercise our faith with prayer. We need to have prayer and worship “boot camps” to make sure we can endure the attacks that will come with the enemy’s strategies.

3.) Get intimate with God

Lastly, prayer not only increases faith, but it allows us to grow deeper in fellowship with God. It is an intimate experience with God. These prayers will change our insides and also manifest outwardly. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5: 16 (NIV) When we pray we are able to able grow close to God. It’s the one on one quality time with God that allows us to connect. The more time you fill with Him the more you will be able to hear His voice, feel the Holy Spirit and understand your purpose. When you don’t spend time with Him you won’t know Him. We cannot get so caught up in the religion that we forget the relationship.

So ladies, I encourage you all to keep striving and living for God, remain prayerful and trust God. Build a relationship with God and know that with God on our side the enemy has already been defeated.